Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Headwaters At Barton Creek

Nitrate, a fertilizer chemical, frequently contaminates drinking water due to agricultural and urban runoff, and discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks. Excessive nitrate in water can cause oxygen deprivation in infants and increase the risk of cancer. Click here to read more about nitrate.

 

24

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

14

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.313 ppm440.1000 ppm - 0.710 ppm
20190.398 ppm440.110 ppm - 0.640 ppm
20200.190 ppm440.120 ppm - 0.240 ppm
20210.175 ppm440.130 ppm - 0.210 ppm
20220.108 ppm440.0900 ppm - 0.140 ppm
20230.158 ppm440.120 ppm - 0.210 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.14 ppm

The EWG health guideline of 0.14 parts per million, or ppm, for nitrate and nitrite is based on the equivalent health guideline for nitrate, as defined in a peer-reviewed scientific study by EWG. This guideline represents a one-in-one-million annual cancer risk level.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL): 10 ppm

The legal limit for nitrate, established in 1962, was developed to protect infants from acute methemoglobinemia, a life-threatening disorder of oxygen transport in the body. This limit does not fully protect against the risk of cancer and harm to the developing fetus.

ppm = parts per million

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2018-01-31AE114140.1000 ppm
2018-05-02AE247120.240 ppm
2018-07-30AE347960.200 ppm
2018-11-15AE461640.710 ppm
2019-02-11AE536730.640 ppm
2019-06-12AE702330.510 ppm
2019-08-28AE812490.330 ppm
2019-10-14AE864000.110 ppm
2020-03-11AF021220.190 ppm
2020-06-16AF154350.240 ppm
2020-09-03AF263490.210 ppm
2020-11-18AF349730.120 ppm
2021-03-09AF458730.130 ppm
2021-05-11AF531230.170 ppm
2021-08-12AF659390.210 ppm
2021-10-07AF725260.190 ppm
2022-02-14AF844720.1000 ppm
2022-04-18AF934690.0900 ppm
2022-09-07AG117030.140 ppm
2022-11-15AG187060.1000 ppm
2023-02-14AG286720.160 ppm
2023-06-22AG454590.210 ppm
2023-09-07AG552080.120 ppm
2023-11-13AG631720.140 ppm